Device for supporting and forming a necktie knot

ABSTRACT

A NECKTIE IS FORMED OVER THE SUPPORTED BY AN INTEGRALLYFORMED PIECE OF PLASTIC WITH A PAIR OF SPACED APART VERTICALLY ELONGATED ROUNDED FORWARD PROJECTIONS WHICH PROVIDE A RECESS THEREBETWEEN TO RECEIVE PERMANENTLY PRE-DIMPLED PORTIONS OF A NECKTIE. THE INTEGRAL PIECE ALSO HAS A REARWARD PROJECTION WHICH ADDS BULK TO THE KNOT, AND LATERALLY ENTENDING THIN FLAT WINGS. A CLAMPING MEANS ATTACHED TO THE INTEGRAL BODY HAS A PRESSURE FOOT FOR HOLDING THE COLLARBAND OF A SHIRT AGAINST A REAR FACE OF THE REARWARD PROJECTION TO ORIENT THE DEVICE SO THE FORWARD PROJECTIONS ARE INCLINED UPWARDLY AND REARWARDLY.   D R A W I N G

United States Patent [191 Gouner DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING AND FORMING ANECKTIE KNOT [75] Inventor: Aubrey L. Gouner, Metairie, La.

[73] Assignee: Wembley Industries Inc., New

Orleans, La.

[22] Filed: July 3, 1972 211 App]. No.: 268,426

[52] US. Cl. 2/153 [51] Int. Cl A41d 25/08 [58] Field of Search 2/l50,152 R, 152 A, 153

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2.646.668 7/l953 Rinehart2/153 2.669.724 2/1954 Jarrett 2/153 2.798.226 7/1957 Kanter 2/1533.513.483 5/l970 Kanter at al. 2/l53 June 28, 1974 PrimaryExaminer-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney, Agent, or FirmBrowne, Beveridge,De- Grandi & Kline ABSTRACT A necktie is formed over and supported by anintegrally-formed piece of plastic with a pair of spaced apartvertically elongated rounded forward projections which provide a recesstherebetween to receive permanently pre-dimpled portions of a necktie.The integral piece also has a rearward projection which adds bulk to theknot, and laterally extending thin flat wings. A clamping means attachedto the integral body has a pressure foot for holding the collarband of ashirt against a rear face of the rearward projection to orient thedevice so the forward projections are inclined upwardly and rearwardly.

7 Claims, 13 Dr awing Figures- DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING AND FORMING ANECKTIIE KNOT This invention relates to a supporting and forming devicewhich constitutes the core of a knot of a pretied necktie and provides ameans whereby the necktie may be affixed to the collarband of a shirt.

Heretofore, there have been a variety of devices proposed for thepurpose of supporting and forming a necktie knot, some of which have metwith commercial acceptance. In many instances, these devices have beenformed of flat sheet material which has resulted in a somewhat unnaturalappearance of the necktie in the vicinity of the knot. This unnaturalappearance is due, in part, to the flattening which has occurred wherethe necktie is dimpled in the interior of the knot and immediately belowthe knot, since most prior forming devices have not accommodated thedimpled portion of the knot.

Another shortcoming of some prior art necktie knot supporting andforming devices is that they present an unnatural orientation of theknot since they do not present the degree of forward inclination whichis normally produced by a regular necktie. Some efforts to overcome thisdisadvantage have involved the use of a small rearwardly projecting studelement at the lower portion of the knot-supporting device, but thisprior construction has the disadvantages of additional expense, thenecessity to penetrate the necktie in the lower regions of the knot, andthe unnatural appearance of a hardware-like stud or other element usedfor this purpose.

A further shortcoming of previous devices of the type described hereinhas been that the necktie presented an artificial appearance when notbeing worn due to the use of various types of tabs, rearwardlyprojecting hardware and partially exposed knot forming devices.According to this invention, however, the knot-forming device isessentially concealed, with the only visible additive thereto being theclamping device which is used to affix it to the collarband of a shirt.

It has previously been known to provide an exteriorly rounded necktieforming and supporting device which has a dimple-receiving recess,typical devices of this type being shown by US. Pat. Nos. 2,1 19,41 1and 3,513,483. However, these devices have not been disclosed in astructure and method using a necktie which has had a dimple previouslyand permanently formed therein.

The device shown in the previously-mentioned US Pat. No. 3,5 l3,483 alsohas forward projections which are intended to give the necktie thedesired forward protrusion, but the elements which provide for theorientation of the knot-forming device itself are quite different. Inthisprior device, the shirt collarband is tails which include the shapeof the forward projections. The angular orientation of the disclosedknot forming and supporting device is determined by its rear face whichis held against the collarband by a pressure foot. The pressure foot isaportion of a biased clamping arm which is attached to the knot fonningand supporting device and extends over the upper edge of the collarband.

The necktie is centered on the device by stitching or stapling to formpermanent dimples in the necktie, and then positioning the pre-dimpledareas in a recess on the front of the knot forming and supportingdevice.

In the disclosed device, there are a pair of vertically elongatedforward projections which are spaced apart to provide therebetween avertical recess for receiving the dimpled portions of a necktie.Preferably, the external necktie-contacting portions of the forwardprojections are convexly rounded to continue and accentuate thedesirable rounded contour of the knot. The recess jections in ateardrop-like shape to increase the protrugripped by a clamping armwhich is similar in many re- The present invention differs from theprior art with respect to the manner used to provide the angularorientation of the device, the manner of ensuring that the necktie isfixedly positioned on the device and the desion of the lower portion ofa knot formed thereover.

For a more complete understanding of the structure and principles of apreferred embodiment of the invention, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1 illustrates the appearance in useof a necktie mounted on a device constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a knot supporting and forming deviceconstructed according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the device of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view as seen along the lines 55 in FIG. 3 andillustrating in solid lines the clamping device for attaching thenecktie to the collarband of a shirt;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 4 toillustrate the considerable depth of the device.

FIGS. 7-10 show the stages of forming a four-in-hand necktie knot aroundthe device of the invention.

FIGS. ll, 12 and 13 respectively are front, rear and transversesectional views of a completed assembly wherein a necktie is knottedaround the device of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2-6, it will be seen that the device of the inventionincludes a solid body generally designated 2 which is integrally formedpreferably by injection molding of an organic polymeric plasticmaterial. The body 2 has a relatively deep central portion that will beobserved in'FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, and a pair of thin flat lateral wings 4which have their upper and lower edges extending rearwardly and upwardlyfrom the central body of the device.

On the forward face of the central body, there are a pair of forwardprojections 6 which are horizontally spaced apart to providetherebetween a trough or vertical recess 8 which is intended to receivethe dimpled portions of the necktie. The projections 6 have convexexterior surfaces for contacting the necktie, and these surfaces are ina teardrop-shape so as to produce a somewhat greater protrusion of thenecktie toward the lower portions of the knot.

a shirt when in use. This face 12 establishes the orienta tion of thedevice and a necktie knot with respect to the collarband of the shirt.The rear face 12 will be generally vertical when attached to acollarband, and it is inclined with respect to the forward projections 6so as to provide the natural-looking forward protrusion of the knot.

A spring clip clamping means 14 is used to attach the device to a shirt.This assembly includes a stationary metallic spring 16 held to the mainbody'by a rivet 18. A depending tang 19 on spring 16 is seated in arecess of corresponding shape in the main body to prevent the springfrom pivoting on the rivet. At the upper end of the spring 16, there area pair of resilient'forward fingers which have their upper edges turnedrearwardly at 22, and a central rear finger 24 which has aforwardlyturned portion 26 at its upper end.

The purpose of the fingers 20 and 24 is to retain the crosspiece 28 ofthe T-shaped clamping arm 30. The crosspiece 28 has lateral extensionswhich ride in the horizontally oriented grooves formed by the inturnedupper ends 22 of the forward fingers 20. When the clip is in theposition illustrated in FIG. 5, the rearward edge of the crosspiece 28is retained against the forwardly turned portion 26 ofthe central finger24. However, movement of the arm 30 in a clockwise direction as seen inFIG. will permit the crosspiece 28 to pass an over-center position sothat the forces created by the resilient fingers will bias the arm 30for further movement in a clockwise direction until the shirtcontactingpressure foot 34 is aligned with and urged toward the rear face 12 ofthe knot-supporting and forming device. The force of the pressure footis directed toward the rear face 12 to hold the device and a tie locatedthereon firmly against the collarband 36 of a shirt in a manner bestillustrated in FIG. 13. The pressure foot 34 is smaller than the rearface 12, so the force exerted by the pressure foot will cause the rearface 12 to lie parallel to the vertical collarband, thereby providing asignificant forward protrusion of the forward projections of the deviceand the knot placed thereon.

The manufacture of a tie by using the device of this invention isrelatively uncomplicated. The body 2 is preferably formed by injectionmolding, and the clamping means 14 is attached thereto by a rivet 18. Atie is formed according to conventional cutting and sewing processes,but it is somewhat shorter than usual since it does not have to encirclethe wearers neck. A pair of small incisions 38 and 40, shown in FIGS. 7and 8, are made in the tie at points selected according to the locationshown at 42 in FIGS. 8 and 9 and at 44 in FIG. 7. The stitching forholding one dimple or tuck in place is illustrated at 46 in FIG. 9.

The initial step of tying a knot around the device of the invention isshown in FIG. 7 where the front apron 48 of the tie is draped rearwardlyand the rear apron 50 is laid over the upper edge of the device, withthe arm 30 extending through the incision 38. At this point, the

preformed dimple 44 will be properly centered since it will lie in therecess 8 between the forward projections 6. r I

The front apron 48. is then wrapped horizontally around the device asshown in FIG. 8, drawn upwardly as shown in FIG. 9 and then pulleddownwardly inside dimensions of the forming device to receive theclamping arm 30.

A further preparatory step is to form dimples in the tie in a knownmanner by providing central tucks in the appropriate places and holdingthe tucks in position by stitching or stapling. These tucks are madeboth at the the front part 52 of the knot to the position shown in FIG.10. During this latter step, the arm 30 is passed through the incisionand the dimple 42 will be laid between the forward projections 6 inorder to ensure the proper centering of the front dimple and the frontapron of the necktie.

As will be observed in FIGS. 11 and 12, this tying operation completelyencloses the device of the invention and provides a most naturalappearing'knot when viewed from either the front or the rear, sothat aprospective purchaser will not be detracted by the presence of anyunnatural-appearing portions of the forming device except for the arm30. The resulting product is extremely attractive despite the relativesimplicity of making it.

Those skilled in the art will realize that this invention may take manyforms other than the ones specifically described in order to follow theprinciples of and attain the advantages of the invention. Therefore, theinvention is not limited only to the disclosed embodiment butencompasses modifications and variations thereto which are within thescope and spirit of the claims which follow.

I claim:

I. A necktie assembly comprising a supporting and forming device havinga central body which includes a pair of vertically elongated forwardprojections which are horizontally spaced apart to provide therebetweena vertical recess for receiving the dimpled portions of a necktie,

a necktie formed in a knot around said device, said necktie havingdimples permanently formed therein, said dimples being located in saidgroove to center the necktie on the device.

and attachment means for attaching the device to the collarband of ashirt.

' 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the central body has a rearwardprojection which provides a rear face for establishing the orientationof the device with respect to the collarband of a shirt, said rear facebeing inclined downwardly and rearwardly with respect to the axes of theforward projections.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the attachment means includes apressure foot which is alignable with and biased toward the rear face ofthe device, said pressure foot being smaller than the rear face.

4. The device of claim 1 provided with thin flat wings extendinglaterally from the central portion in planes which lie rearwardly of theforward projections.

extending laterally from the central portion in planes which lieforwardly of the rear projection and rearwardly of the forwardprojections.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the entire central body is covered andconcealed by said knot.

